Transition element substituted titanate acid nanotubes were fabricated by alkali hydrothermal method using Fe³⁺ doped rutile TiO₂ nanopowders as precursors. The properties of the powders were characterized by SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD and BET analysis. The photocatalytic performances of Fe³⁺-substituted titanate nanotubes for Rhodamine B decomposition were studied. The results showed that the diameters of Fe³⁺-substituted titanate nanotubes were around 8 nm with length ranging from 30 nm to 200 nm. The XRD analysis indicated that the crystalline orthorhombic system of titanate nanotubes was not changed when substituted by Fe³⁺. The BET analysis suggested that the Fe³⁺ substituted titanate nanotubes had large specific surface areas, which were over 80 m²/g, approximately. Studying of degradation of Rhodamine B solution revealed that titanate nanotubes with 2.0% of doped Fe³⁺ initially had the best photocatalytic activity, whose degradation rate was over 90% after UV irradiation for 3 hours.